A 44-mile-long scenic corridor sprinkled with historic points of interest as well as places to fish for trout, ride bikes, view wildlife and paddle kayaks weaves its way over, under and alongside the West Virginia Turnpike between Beckley and the Kanawha County river town of Pratt — although most Turnpike travelers are oblivious to it.

“Visitors now have the chance to learn about an area of Southern West Virginia as told by people who have lived there their whole lives.”

To let more people know about the Paint Creek Scenic Byway and what it has to offer, the Paint Creek Scenic Trails Association has created the Paint Creek Driving Tour, which uses a free downloadable mobile device app to give byway explorers access to 10 audio pieces with information on those who lived along the stream, from American Indian times through European settlement and farming to its coal mining boom and bust and present-day era of watershed restoration.

The mobile app, developed by i-Treks of Lewisburg, allows visitors to simply hit the Byway, starting from Tamarack, and as they approach points of interest, listen to site-appropriate audio stories automatically activated by arriving at preset GPS coordinates.

After three years of researching, recording and editing, “visitors now have the chance to learn about an area of Southern West Virginia as told by people who have lived there their whole lives,” said project director Catherine Moore.

In addition to oral histories and historic sidebars, the audio tour features traditional Appalachian music. Additional information, plus a gallery of original photography, is available on the Paint Creek Scenic Trails Association’s website, paintcreekwv.com, where the free app for the driving tour can also be found…

What’s the right formula for a for-profit, local online news startup in a smaller market?

There’s probably no single answer to that question. But in north-central Ohio, the people behind Richland Source say they have a recipe that’s working for them. It includes original content that’s free to read, a diversifying revenue base anchored by digital ads, engagement with live events, a relaxed approach to the traditional “church-state” divide—and an unapologetically upbeat attitude about the local community.

Richland Source is headquartered in Mansfield, the seat of Richland County and a city of a bit less than 50,000 people located midway between Cleveland and Columbus. It’s a part of the Rust Belt that has faced a “slow-motion butt-kicking” over the course of a few decades, Jay Allred, the site’s publisher, likes to say.

But the editorial vision behind the site, he adds, is “to tell the story of the community as a whole, rather than just the things that are challenging.” Or as Larry Phillips, the managing editor, puts it: “Not everything in Mansfield, Ohio, is a disaster.”

“We believe it’s our obligation to put into the public record all of the things that people do in this community to make it a good place to live.”

Richland Source was launched in July 2013 with an investment from Carl Fernyak, the CEO of a local printer and copier supplier. Today, the site has six full-time editorial staffers, and is, Allred says, “on track” for a planned five-year path to profitability. It’s also expanding its reach: In March, the site launched Crawford Source, covering Richland’s neighbors to the west. This summer, it will move into Ashland County, over the eastern border.

The outlet delivers enterprise reporting on complicated local issues, like a recent multimedia piece exploring solutions to farmers’ flooding concerns. It also routinely covers council and school board meetings in Mansfield and Shelby, a nearby town.

But what most stands out about the editorial focus is an emphasis on uplift and community growth. “We believe it’s our obligation to put into the public record all of the things that people do in this community to make it a good place to live,” Allred says in a promotional video. That means plenty of features, local lore, schools, and youth sports, ranging from a piece about a day spent riding every Mansfield bus line to a story about a play written by a former high school basketball coach to a video series on how to prepare locally foraged food…

Surprising things can happen when you get a bunch of creative, ambitious and passionate people in the one room. You identify a challenge, look at the thing from all different angles, bounce brave ideas off each other and, before you know it, whole new worlds open up. The previously unseen begins to take shape.

Surprising things can happen when you get a bunch of creative, ambitious and passionate people in the one room.

Better yet, Tamarack Foundation Executive Director Alissa Novoselick will be there in person, to welcome participating artists and hang out during the webinar.

The brand-spanking-new Media Innovation Center has lots of great breakout spaces and comfortable rooms with big screens, one of which will be made available to artists wanting to participate in the webinar, which will be hosted by the very excellent Megan Bullock of MESH Design and Development.

For the first time, New Story will bring together some of the state’s most influential, innovative and forward thinking media and communications professionals and students, to highlight the changing media landscape in West Virginia, unearth creative new media projects and sites, and herald Appalachia’s most creative and determined narrative change-makers.

Already, many of Appalachia’s media leaders have signed on to participate, including WVU’s Reed College of Media, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Appalshop, Louisville Public Radio, Elaine Sheldon, Catherine Moore, Weelunk, Appalachian Regional Commission, The Daily Yonder and New South Media, plus journalists, editors, filmmakers, media producers, researchers and community leaders from all corners of the state.

Want to go to New Story but also want to log in to the webinar? Hey presto, we made it happen.

Communication is a two way street. In my last article I offered tips for politicians on connecting with their constituents through social media. Now, here’s some advice for those wanting to use social media to reach their local politicians.

Include your district when reaching out – e.g. #district51.
Politicians should engage with you more if they know you are in their voting district.

Follow local and national politicians. According to the Pew Research Center, only 20 percent of social media users follow their local officials or candidates.

Reach out to someone specific. @ them in your Tweet or Facebook post, so they can see your post.

Keep it civil. Telling your current governor you think he is a moron monkey brain when he backs a policy you are against does all harm and no good. Speak your mind, but keep your thoughts constructive.

Your voice matters – in and out of the voting booth.

Talk about the issues. Don’t just Tweet at your local representative; Tweet to your own followers on the platform. Let them know what current legislation is being pushed through and which politicians you support. According to VoterGravity.com, 30 percent of voters were encouraged to vote by friends or family through social media. Your voice matters – in and out of the voting booth.

News! Get your news, here! While it is great to let your voice be heard, it is also worthwhile to listen to the views of others. Friends, family members and internet acquaintances may help you to see a policy or politician in a new way or shine a light on an issue you weren’t aware of.

Community leaders will come together at Marshall to explore the power of social enterprise, according to Dr. Jonathan Butler, assistant professor of entrepreneurship for the college.

“Create innovative opportunities to help people both here in Appalachia and around the world.”

“Marshall’s new entrepreneurship area is delighted to partner with ARC, One Foundation, Rural Action, and others who are interested in social entrepreneurship and working to create innovative opportunities to help people both here in Appalachia and around the world,” Butler said. “The new major in entrepreneurship emphasizes social entrepreneurship as one way to revitalize West Virginia and the surrounding region. Hopefully, this conference will spark student innovation and provide an impetus for a new cohort of social entrepreneurs from Marshall.”

In addition to the conference, there will be a pre-conference kick-start tour led by Generation West Virginia from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. The tour, which is limited to 25 people, will take place in Huntington and visit three local social enterprises including West Edge Factory, Wild Ramp and Huntington’s Kitchen. The cost for the tour is $25.

Maker. Creator. Entrepreneur. Boss. West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media wants to empower young women to see themselves in these roles and to help them become leaders in the space where media and technology intersect.

“We have designed this Hack the Gender Gap series to ensure that young women of media will be leading the way.”

The three-day event kicks off on Friday, April 1, and will take place at the College’s Media Innovation Center. It will focus on the new but accelerating market in the Internet of Things and its potential impact on journalism and media, including sensor journalism, reporting with networked smart objects, storytelling with beacons and more.

“The full potential of Internet of Things is yet to be realized. For example, only a handful of people control their thermostat remotely from home, but in the next three years that number will grow,” said Dana Coester, creative director for the College’s Media Innovation Center. “IoT has been dubbed the next Industrial Revolution, and we have designed this Hack the Gender Gap series to ensure that young women of media will be leading the way.”

Throughout the weekend, participants will work in teams on a challenge to problem solve, invent and craft solutions in IoT that make sense for journalism and media enterprises. Students will work with mentors who are prominent female leaders from such companies as NPR, Thomson Reuters, Gannett and the Wall Street Journal. The event will emphasize collaboration, team-building and entrepreneurship…

]]>https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/wvutoday-makeathon-puts-west-virginian-women-at-the-cutting-edge-of-internet-revolution/feed/0alltheanimalsmakeCan We Please Talk?: An Instagram and Pinterest Brainstorming Session…https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/can-we-please-talk-an-instagram-and-pinterest-brainstorming-session/
https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/can-we-please-talk-an-instagram-and-pinterest-brainstorming-session/#respondWed, 27 Jul 2016 08:53:48 +0000http://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/?p=606Continue reading →]]>They say a picture says a thousand words. Does that explain the enormous popularity of the photo-based social media platforms, Instagram and Pinterest?

Did you know that 85% of Pinterest users are women? Or that 27.6% of all people in the United States used Instagram in 2015?

Throwing spaghetti at the walls to find real-world and workable ideas for making Instagram and Pinterest a part of your communications outreach.

Over the past few months, more and more people working for community development nonprofits in West Virginia have asked me whether they should be using Instagram and Pinterest, and how they can do that with the limited staff capacity they have.

Companies (like Guess Jeans, above), are using Instagram and Pinterest campaigns to increase brand loyalty, engage new customers, and generally make some noise about their products. But what about little ol’ nonprofits?

Well, I don’t have all the answers. But, in true Hub spirit, I know some people that do.

So, this Friday in Charleston I’m hosting an informal (but hopefully very productive) brainstorming session for people to ask questions, get answers, share experiences and generally throw spaghetti at the walls to find real-world and workable ideas for making Instagram and Pinterest a part of their communications outreach.

We’d love you to come! We are especially looking for people with professional marketing/social campaigns experience to share some their savvy. If you’re a communications expert (come now, don’t be shy), looking to help out some very good folks, here’s your chance.

When? Friday, Jan. 15. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Come for just as long as you can spare!

Where? Panera Bread at the Charleston Mall (in the meeting room).

Who’ll be there? You mean, aside from you? People who know nothing (about Instagram and Pinterest), people who know lots about it, and everyone in between.

]]>https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/can-we-please-talk-an-instagram-and-pinterest-brainstorming-session/feed/0alltheanimalsguessCommunications in Community Development: Bringing It All Togetherhttps://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/communications-in-community-development-bringing-it-all-together/
https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/communications-in-community-development-bringing-it-all-together/#respondWed, 26 Nov 2014 14:42:33 +0000http://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/?p=602Continue reading →]]>Bringing new partners together and using collaboration as a means to creation has always been one of the favorite elements of my work – both here at RTC and during my time as a community newspaper editor. And it’s certainly where the drive to move my career continually closer to hands-on community development roles comes from.

And so it was awesome to get stuck into the latest of my new challenges for RTC: leading the communications and community relations effort behind “The Circuit” – a planned 750-mile network of active transportation pathways around the Greater Philadelphia area. In order to get this thing built we are going to need a groundswell of citizen support, pushing elected leaders for funding and planning investment and making the region’s private sector see the value of such infrastructure. We’re going to need marketing and branding and ways for local people to get engaged and inspired. That’s what communications provides for trail building, and I love being involved.

I was in Philly last week – to meet The Circuit partners and get a sense of how each sector of this diverse coalition understands The Circuit message and the needs, values and ambitions of their individual trail project or community initiative. As I have learned from coalescing and leading joint communications efforts elsewhere, it is only by ensuring everyone feels involved in the process, the outcomes and the communications products that you create invested cheerleaders for the campaign and build a sustainable machine with organic local energy.

Next step: hiring a local firm to do a Brand Recognition Campaign and Website Redesign. We gonna shake it up a little in Philly. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

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]]>https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/communications-in-community-development-bringing-it-all-together/feed/0DSC_2506alltheanimalsDSC_2506Growing the Conversation: Rail-Trail as Community Development Assethttps://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/growing-the-conversation-rail-trail-as-community-development-asset/
https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/growing-the-conversation-rail-trail-as-community-development-asset/#respondTue, 18 Nov 2014 20:19:17 +0000http://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/?p=599Continue reading →]]>It is great to see communities back home in Australia tapping into the conversation about the many economic and social benefits of trail creation.

As we continue to refine our strategies for using Communications as a powerful trail-building tool here in the U.S., it has been terrific to be able to lend that experience to the fledgling rail-trail movement in the places I grew up in, and the communities I one day hope to return to.

]]>https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/growing-the-conversation-rail-trail-as-community-development-asset/feed/0crookwellalltheanimalscrookwellHelping Build the New Detroithttps://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/helping-build-the-new-detroit/
https://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/helping-build-the-new-detroit/#respondWed, 12 Nov 2014 17:02:44 +0000http://jakelynchcommunity.wordpress.com/?p=593Continue reading →]]>Ever since I visited Detroit in support of RTC’s Trail Development team last year, I’ve been keen to tell the story of all the great things happening behind biking, walking and trails there in The D.

Detroit hasn’t been getting much good press lately. But after meeting a bunch of savvy and passionate locals doing creative things to make their city a better place to live, work and get around, I knew there was more to the story that most Americans are getting about Detroit – bankruptcy, crime, derelict spaces.